Chair.



U. S. DE MOULIN.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1909.

927,71 7. Patented July 13, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

ULYSSES S. DE MOULIN, OF GREENVILLE, ILLINOIS.

CHAIR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ULYSSES S. DE MoULrN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenville, in the county of Bond and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Chair, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to trick chairs of that type utilizing supports designed to shift out of their normal position to cause the chair to rock bodily so as to bring the back thereof onto the floor, means being utilized for holding the movable supports normally in operative positions.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a chair of this type utilizing rear legs which are designed to swing forwardly under the seat when released from their holding or securing means, each leg consisting of hingedly connected sections which will not in any wise interfere with the backward rocking or tilting of the chair after the legs or supports have been released.

Another object is to provide supporting means which will very quickly collapse at the desired moment.

WVith these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chair embodying the present improvements, a portion of one side of the frame being broken away. Fig. 2 is a sec tion through a portion of the chair and showing the position assumed by the rear leg or support when collapsed.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference 1 designates the seat frame of the chair, the same being supported at the front corners by legs 2 which may, if preferred, extend above the frame and constitute supports for the handles 3. The back frame 4 is preferably formed of metal and has its lower portion merging into arcuate rockers 5 the lower ends of which are secured to the lower ends of the front legs 2.

A pivot rod 6 extends transversely within the back portion of the seat frame 1 and movably mounted thereon are the rear supporting legs of the chair, each of these legs consisting of an upper section 7 and a lower section 8, both sections being connected by Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1, 1909.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Serial No. 493,344.

means of a hinge 9. The hinges are preferably securcd to the rear faces of the leg sections so that any backward sliding movement of the chair such as often produced while a person is being seated, will not result in the collapse of the chair supports. A spring helix 10 is secured at one end to one side of the seat frame and at its other to the lower portion of the adjoining upper leg section 7, it being of course understood that one of these springs is provided for each rear leg. l/Vhen the rear legs are in their operative positions as indicated in Fig. 1 the springs 10 are under stress and it is necessary therefore to employ some means for holding the legs against the action of the springs. It is to be understood that any preferred means may be utilized for this purpose. In the drawings a pivoted catch 11 is mounted upon the seat frame 1 and the head 12 of the catch is designed to engage the adjoining leg so as to prevent it swinging forwardly upon the pivot rod 6. One of these catches is provided for each leg and a spring 13 may be utilized for holding the catch normally in engagement with the leg. A cord 14 may be secured to the two catches and extend beyond the seat frame so that by pulling upon it both of the catches can be sinuiltaneously swung toward each other and out of engagement with the legs.

In order to set the device the rear legs are swung rearwardly against the heads 12 so as to shift said heads laterally and. after the legs have assumed their proper upright positions these heads will spring into engagement with the legs and lock them as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. I/Vhile the legs are thus held the springs 10 remain under stress. Should a person be seated in the chair and should it be desired to operate the device the cords 14 are pulled so as to shift the heads 12 out of engagement with the rear legs. The springs 10 will promptly swing the said legs forwardly and upwardly in the direction of the seat frame 1 and although the lower sections 8 of the rear legs will hang freely as shown in Fig. 2 all portions of said legs will be located within the bounds of the rockers 5. As said legs are shifted by the springs 10 the weight of the chair and its occupant will cause said chair to drop baclrwardly and bring the back frame 4 onto the floor. This action will be very sudden but will be entirely free of any objectionable j olting action.

Obviously various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

l/Vhat is claimed is 1. A chair comprising a seat frame, a back, front supports, rockers extending from said supports and merging into the hack, jointed rear supports, means for locking said supports to project beyond the rockers, and means for automatically shifting said supports when unlocked, into position above the rockers.

2. A chair having rearwardly and up wardly curved rockers merging into the back frame of the chair, jointed rear supports extending below the rockers, means for securing said supports in extended position, and means for automatically shifting the supports to position above the rockers when unlocked.

3. A chair having rearwardly and upwardly curved rockers merging into the back frame of the chair, jointed. rear supports eX- tending below the rockers, means for holding the supports in predetermined positions, and means for automatically breaking the joints when the supports are released.

4. A chair having rockers curved rearwardly and upwardly and merging into the back of the chair, pivot-ally mounted rear legs each formed of hingedly connected sections, means for locking said legs against movement, and means for automatically folding the legs against the seat of the chair When said legs are unlocked.

5. A chair having rearwardly and upwardly curved rockers merging into the back of the chair, rear legs pivotally connected to the chair seat and foldable thereagainst, each of said legs consisting of movably connected sections, means for automatically folding the legs against the chair seat, and

means for locking said legs against nnovement.

6. A chair having rear legs movable with relation to the front legs, means for locking the rear legs against movement, means for automatically actuating said legs when unlocked, and rockers for directing the chair onto its back when the said rear legs are automatically shifted.

7. A chair having normally parallel front and rear legs, rearwardly and upwardly curved rockers connecting the lower ends of the front legs-to the back of the chair, said rockers merging into the back, means for automatically folding the rear legs in the direction of the seat of the chair, and means for holding said rear legs against such folding movement.

8. A chair having normally parallel front and. rear legs, said. rear legs consisting of movably connected sections, rearwardly and upwardly curved rockers extending from the lower ends of the front legs and merging into the back of the chair, means for automatically folding the rear legs in the direction of the seat of the chair, and means for securing said legs against such folding movement. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

LYSSES S. DE MOULIN. l Vitnesses M. G. Dorm, FRANK Brain-muses. 

